What happens if Graham Platner drops out?

As controversies add up, Maine Democrats would face a tight timeline to replace Graham Platner on the ballot if he ended his campaign

Graham Platner is a controversial, flawed candidate. Beyond his Totenkopf tattoo, work as a private military contractor in Iraq, demeaning remarks on Reddit, recent use of the r-word on the campaign trail, and promotion of far-right social media accounts, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that, while married, he sent “sexually explicit text messages” to other women.

On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal added that Platner met with several Democratic members of the Senate and denied that further allegations would come out.

“The worst of the rumors we’ve all heard are not true,” he reportedly said, specifically “den[ying] any credible allegations of assault were forthcoming.” On Thursday, June 4, the New York Times added to the existing reporting with testimonials from women who had dated him, with some reporting “unsettling” and “physically threatening” behavior.

To many, Platner’s background is deeply concerning—suggesting, at the very least, that he holds inconsistent ideological views and could become another John Fetterman or Kyrsten Sinema in the Senate—or at worst, he holds deeply intolerant views that belie a commitment to progressive values. To his supporters, by contrast, these details seem to be no big deal, and maybe even evidence that he’d be a disruptive force in Congress.

But in the wake of Platner’s latest scandal, Democrats are reportedly worried that even more stories will emerge and sabotage one of the party’s best hopes for flipping a Republican-held Senate seat.

What would happen, then, if Platner were to drop out?

This question might seem premature. Platner hasn’t won the Democratic primary yet—indeed, just earlier this week, Gov. Janet Mills reminded voters that she is “still on the ballot” despite suspending her campaign in April—but he is overwhelmingly favored to do so. In any event, no major Democrats have called for Platner to quit the race. And the general election is months away. So wouldn’t there be plenty of time to deal with this if another shoe were to drop?

No. Under Maine law, this question is not premature at all, because there would be very little time to maneuver once the general election truly gets under way. State law sets an extremely early deadline for candidates to withdraw, a deadline that is little more than a month away, at 5:00 PM on Monday, July 13.

If Platner were to drop out by that point, the Maine Democratic Party would be able to replace him on the ballot.

But if he were to withdraw after that point, his name could be “removed” from the ballot, but his party would not be given an opportunity to replace him. There aren’t many great options available after that point, either. Maine Democrats could find an independent candidate to support in the general election, but they couldn’t field a new one—the filing deadline for independent candidates has passed.

It is possible that the state legislature could move to modify that requirement and lengthen the period of time for naming a replacement nominee, but such a change would be difficult.

Lawmakers adjourned on April 29 and are not scheduled to meet again this year. Mills could exercise her power under Article V, Section 13, of the Maine Constitution to convene the legislature in an extraordinary session, but even then, there’s a serious catch.

That’s because the state constitution further provides that bills only come into effect 90 days after the conclusion of the session in which they were passed. Realistically, then, if an extraordinary session were convened after July 13, the effective date of the legislation would be too late.

There is a narrow exception for “emergency” legislation, which can take effect immediately. However, such legislation requires a two-thirds majority in each chamber to pass. Given that Democrats do not have supermajorities in either chamber, the odds are good that Republicans would block any such maneuver.

If Democrats want to preserve the ability to replace Platner on the ballot, they might be well-advised to have Mills convene an extraordinary session right now so that they could rewrite the law in time for the general election. They could extend the period of time that parties have to replace candidates, allow votes for withdrawn candidates to count for substituted ones, or make a variety of other fixes. If a bill were drafted and passed, say, next week, it would come into effect in the second or third week of September, which would likely provide enough time to deal with a last-minute withdrawal.

Finally, Democrats could sue for the right to replace Platner on the ballot. There’s some precedent for this, but it arose in a very different context.

In 2002, when Democratic Sen. Bob Torricelli, who was facing a criminal investigation, ended his campaign, the New Jersey Democratic Party had no power under state law to replace him on the ballot. State law allowed a political party to replace a candidate on the ballot up to the 48th day before the general election, but Torricelli ended his campaign after that window. Despite that, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Democrats could name an alternate candidate.

The court’s ruling was controversial when it was handed down, and it rested on a potentially different legal reality. In New Jersey, state law said nothing about what would happen if a candidate dropped out beyond the statutory window. But in Maine, state law is much clearer—even if it is harsher. Still, there could be grounds for arguing that the rights of Maine citizens would be violated by such a limited window for replacing a political party’s nominee.

All of this is to say that, if Democrats want to show Platner the door and seek an alternative nominee, they have precious little time to do so. And after July 13, their path to naming a replacement nominee is perilous.